#THANK U FOR REQUESTING MOLLY MWUAH ILY ILY <3

[sunshinereddie]

22. reunion hug!!

Eddie stood nervously at the door to the restaurant, wondering whether or not he would be able to catch a flight back to New York that night if he left right now. Sure, the plane ticket would be expensive as hell, and he'd go home to a million questions from Myra, along with having to explain to his boss why he had suddenly left the state in the middle of the work day, but compared to spending one more second back in Derry... Eddie was becoming more convinced by the second.

He knew he had to be back in Derry. The scar on his hand palm that hadn't stopped burning since he had received Mike's call was telling him so. The memory of their promise was telling him so. He knew he had to be back, to finally put an end to all of this... but a part of him also couldn't help but think, Why does it have to be me?

Eddie might have remained standing there all night long, his mind going back and forth over what to do, until footsteps approached from behind him, and a voice spoke up- a teasing, but strangely familiar voice.

"Hey, man- you know this isn't a club or something, right? You can go right in, you don't need to wait get your ID checked and block the doorway."

Eddie frowned, and quickly turned on his heel to tell this guy that a simple 'excuse me' would have been perfectly fine and that he didn't need to be a jackass about it... when his eyes landed on a familiar face. A face that Eddie hadn't seen in thirty years, but one he could never forget.

"...Richie?"

Richie Tozier's eyes widened as he realized the person he had just made fun of wasn't just some guy, but Eddie Kaspbrak. His smug grin melted into a soft smile, and suddenly all the negative things that Eddie had been feeling about being back in Derry vanished, replaced with a brighter feeling as his memories of Richie came flooding in.

Richie's mouth hung open, as though he was lost for words, and for a moment Eddie was surprised that Richie Tozier, of all people, had been brought to silence- when he spoke just one simple word: "Eds."

It was a nickname Eddie hadn't heard in a long time, and with it brought a feeling Eddie hadn't felt in a long time- the tight feeling in his chest, a flash of heat through his body, the pace of his heartbeat accelerating. Eddie had always told Richie when they were kids that he hated the nickname, but... he had always been quite fond of it, and hadn't realized how much he missed it until now.

Richie's smile widened as he approached, but before Eddie could say anything else in reply, Richie was throwing his arms around Eddie in a hug that seemed to knock all the air out of Eddie's lungs. It took a second for Eddie to regain his balance and catch his breath, but when he did, he wasted no more time in tightly wrapping his arms around Richie in return. His hands curled into fists, grabbing hold of the fabric of Richie's shirt, as he buried his face in Richie's shoulder. Eddie could feel Richie's hands on his back- large, warm, and trembling.

Eddie could have stayed like that all night.

It was a long while before either of them spoke again, but when Richie finally broke the silence, he didn't break their hug. "It's... it's good to see you again, Eds," he said softly.

There were so many things Eddie wanted to say back. It's good to see you, as well, was the proper thing to say, Eddie knew that, but it wasn't what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Richie how much he missed him. He wanted to say that he was so scared of being back in Derry, but he felt a little less scared in Richie's arms. He wanted to ask if Richie wanted to run away with him. He wanted to tell Richie that he loved him.

But, Eddie knew he couldn't say that. He couldn't say any of that.

"Don't call me Eds," was what he finally replied with.

Richie laughed, and Eddie found it rather amusing that Richie's laugh hadn't changed after all this time. "Sorry," he said. "Want ‘Eddie Spaghetti’ instead?.”

“God, no. That one was even worse.”

“Well, you’re not leaving me with many options.”

“How about my real name, ever think of that, genius?”

“Nah, that’s boring.”

Despite their conversation, they still hadn’t separated from their hug. They spoke into each other’s shoulders, and though they couldn’t see it, they could both feel the curve of the others’ smile against them.

Eddie tightened his arms around Richie. He never wanted to let go. He didn’t want to lose Richie again.

#THANK U FOR REQUESTING MOLLY MWUAH ILY ILY <3 #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #reddie #reddie ficlet #reddie fic #reddie hc #reddie headcanon #it 2017 #it 2019 #it